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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Scorpius » 

ξ Scorpii (xi Scorpii)

Altitude: -18.3°   Azimuth: 274.7°   Direction: West

ξ Scorpii is a multiple sub-giant star in the constellation of Scorpius.

ξ Scorpii visual magnitude is 4.77. Because of its moderate brightness, ξ Scorpii should be easily visible from locations with dark skies, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skies affected by light pollution.

The proper motion of ξ Scorpii is -0.06 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.029 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of ξ Scorpii (xi Scorpii) star
DSS2 image of ξ Scorpii. The red arrow shows the motion of ξ Scorpii during the next 10000 years (-10.00 arcmin in Right Ascension and -4.83 arcmin in declination);

Key facts about ξ Scorpii

4.77
Sub-giant

ξ Scorpii (xi Scorpii) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -18.3°
Azimuth: 274.7°
Direction: West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of ξ Scorpii

ξ Scorpii is situated close to the celestial equator, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of ξ Scorpii are provided in the following table:

16h 04m 22s
-11° 22’ 23”
0.02°
29.42°
Scorpius

The simplified sky map below shows the position of ξ Scorpii in the sky:

Finder chart ξ Scorpii (xi Scorpii) star
Simplified finder chart for ξ Scorpii (xi Scorpii).

Visibility of ξ Scorpii from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's ξ Scorpii (xi Scorpii) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 101.4°
Max altitude: 27.1°
Azimuth: 258.6°

Distance of ξ Scorpii from the Sun and relative movement

ξ Scorpii is distant 79.32 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 29 kilometers per second.

24.33 pc
79.32 ly
-29 km/s
-0.06 arcsec/year
-0.029 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of ξ Scorpii

ξ Scorpii belongs to spectral class F5 and has a luminosity class of IV corresponding to a sub-giant star.

2.84
F5IV
6528K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where ξ Scorpii is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of ξ Scorpii. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

ξ Scorpii star system properties

ξ Scorpii is a visual double star which can be observed with the help of large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the ξ Scorpii double sysyem:

4.77
4.97
0.2
1.2 arcsec

Alternative designations of ξ Scorpii

ξ Scorpii
(xi Scorpii)
SAO159665
SAO159665
Wo 9540 A